MONROE, La. (KNOE) – Governor Jeff Landry made a stop in Northeast Louisiana this Wednesday afternoon (Aug. 21), addressing key issues at the State of the State Luncheon held at the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM).

Landry touched on the importance of education and economic development in his speech, emphasizing the critical role these sectors play in the state’s overall growth.

“The ones that you all have elected for Northeast Louisiana have been unbelievable, they really have, they deserve a round of applause,” Governor Landry said, praising the area’s legislators for their dedication and effective collaboration.

State Representative Michael Echols, who represents Louisiana’s 14th District, spoke highly of the governor’s collaborative approach. “He’s been a good partner. Now we have a governor that’s actually trying to work with us to accomplish some of those things,” Echols remarked.

Governor Landry revealed plans to return to the region before Christmas with a special announcement, stirring anticipation among local officials and residents.

Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis confirmed that the announcement is expected to be significant. “It is something that we have all been looking forward to, something we have longed and wished for,” Mayor Ellis said.

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The Local Media Association has chosen the Louisiana Illuminator as one of 17 news organizations to participate in the 2024 cohort of the its Lab for Journalism Funding.

The lab will help these local news organizations develop and execute strategies to fund essential local journalism via philanthropy. The six-month intensive lab runs from August through January 2025.

The lab, a program of Local Media Foundation, is operated by LMA with continued support from the Google News Initiative. Since its launch in September 2020, the lab has trained and coached more than 100 publishers, helping them raise more than $25 million to fund community service journalism.

This is the third cohort of the lab this year, after LMA launched two state cohorts in Colorado and Pennsylvania, with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

“Each of these newsrooms has a commitment to community service,” said Frank Mungeam, chief innovation officer at LMA. “We are excited to help them develop philanthropy as one of the ways to sustain their essential local journalism.”

“The Google News Initiative has been a long-standing partner of the Lab for Journalism Funding,” said Tiffany Proscia, news partner manager, Google News Partnerships. “Through this partnership, the LMA has consistently shown its dedication to promoting the sustainability of the news ecosystem. Since its launch in 2020, this program has achieved notable success. We look forward to our continued partnership with LMA and its members.”

“This training will help further our mission as a nonprofit news organization to serve underrepresented and marginalized communities in Louisiana,” said Greg LaRose, the Illuminator’s editor in chief. “The knowledge and connections gained through the LMA workshop will help ensure that we continue to produce journalism with a local impact, with resources to focus on topics of critical importance to our readers.”

The 17 newsrooms accepted into the 2024 cohort include a diverse set of organizations in small and large markets, across varied media platforms, with a strong representation of family-owned outlets and publishers who focus on traditionally underserved audiences. These news outlets share a commitment to civic journalism.

Newsrooms will receive one-on-one coaching from the LMA team of coaches, including Joaquin Alvarado, Joanne Heyman, Sam Johnston and Jennifer Preston. Frank Mungeam will once again lead the lab. LMA will publish case studies on publisher lessons and successes from the lab that can be applied across the news industry.